Woman Dies After Rope Jumping Instructors Throw Her Off Bridge Without Harness
Quick Look
- Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas, 21, died after rope jumping instructors in São Paulo, Brazil, threw her from a bridge without safety equipment.
- Footage shows the instructors launching her into a 40-meter abyss as onlookers screamed.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas, a 21-year-old aspiring physical education teacher, died during a rope jumping activity in Limeira, Brazil. She was thrown from a bridge without safety equipment by two instructors.
A 21-year-old woman who died when two rope jumping instructors threw her from a bridge without first harnessing her to security equipment, has been buried in Brazil’s São Paulo state.
Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas was rope jumping on Saturday at Ponte do Esqueleto, an abandoned bridge in the municipality of Limeira where tourists practice extreme sports. The young woman, who aspired to become a physical education teacher, had asked to be launched from the bridge airplane style, with two instructors hoisting her above their shoulders as she spread out her arms.
Footage shared online shows two men in white helmets launching Freites into a 40-metre (130ft) abyss without attaching her to any security equipment as an onlooker screams at the instructors to attach her to a cord. The instructors are wearing harnesses that appear to be attached to a security rope.
Rope jumping is an extreme sport that differs from bungee jumping in the type of cord used and the resulting motion of the fall. Bungee jumping uses elastic rubber cords that create a vertical, bouncing effect, whereas rope jumping uses low-stretch climbing ropes that convert the fall into a horizontal, pendulum swing.
Open Questions
- What charges will the instructors face?
- Were there previous safety concerns at this location?
- What is the current condition of the instructors?
